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Company Profile

Profile

Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. is one of the leading European bus and trolleybus manufacturers. Benefiting from almost 25 years of experience and having manufactured more than 19,000 vehicles, Solaris affects the quality of city transport in hundreds of cities across Europe every day. Thinking of the future, the firm is setting new standards by dynamically developing its products, in particular in the electromobility sector. Solaris products have been repeatedly awarded for quality and innovation in Poland, as well as in other countries. The Solaris Urbino 12 electric won the prestigious European "Bus of the Year 2017" competition. In September 2018 Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. joined CAF Group, which acquired 100% of the shares of the company.

Profile

CAF Group

CAF Group is one of the international benchmarks in the design and implementation of comprehensive mobility systems. For over 100 years, the company has been committed to, and successful in meeting the requirements of administrations and transport operators all over the world.

CAF provides comprehensive project and engineering management throughout all stages of the project including feasibility analysis, system design, civil work, signalling, electrification and other electromechanical systems, rolling stock supply and system operation & maintenance. In terms of rolling stock, CAF supplies and maintains high speed trains, regional and commuter trains, locomotives, metro units, tramways and buses.

CAF is already operating in 40 countries around the world, with production plants in Spain, France, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and United States.

CAF Group

Board of Directors

Founders

Solaris was founded by Solange and Krzysztof Olszewski whose dedication and expertise made the company a successful player in the European bus industry.

Founded in 1996, the company initially employed 36 people. Today Solaris is a leading European manufacturer of innovative buses and urban rail vehicles. At present it employs 2,400 people.

Krzysztof Olszewski was born in Wrocław. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Warsaw Technical University. After graduating in 1976, Olszewski was self-employed in the transportation technology industry. He lived in West Berlin after political events in December 1981 and the introduction of martial law in Poland, which made a return home impossible. From January 1982 onwards, he worked for German bus manufacturer Neoplan in Berlin, rapidly rising through the ranks to become factory manager in 1985. In 1994, Olszewski returned to Poland to open an independent Neoplan sales agency for the Polish market. Two years later Olszewski, together with his wife Solange, opened a bus factory in Bolechowo near Poznań. In 1999 they introduced Urbino city bus, which became the cornerstone of Solaris’s international success.

Founders

Awards

2020

Top Desing Award 2020 for Solaris Trollino 24 MetroStyle

2019

The Electromobility Leader Award 2019 for contributions to the development of zero-emission transport in Poland